Urbanization and Cities

Flashcards covering key concepts of urbanization, city characteristics, globalization, and city structure models.

Site

The physical features of a place (like land, water, or resources).

Situation

A place’s location compared to other places (like near a river or highway).

Urbanization

A megacity is defined as a city with over 10 million people.

Define metacity.

A metacity is a city that has a population of over 20 million people.

What are the characteristics of peripheral countries?

Peripheral countries are poorer and less developed compared to others.

What is suburbanization?

Suburbanization is the movement of people from city centers to suburbs.

What does urban sprawl refer to?

Urban sprawl refers to cities spreading out in a messy and unplanned way.

What is an edge city?

An edge city is a busy area with offices and shops located outside the main city.

Define exurb.

An exurb is a quiet area even farther out than suburbs, usually more rural.

What is the rank-size rule?

The rank-size rule states that the second-largest city is half the size of the largest, the third is one-third, and so on.

What is a primate city?

A primate city is one that is significantly larger and more important than all others in the country.

What does the gravity model explain?

The gravity model explains that larger, closer cities will interact more than smaller, distant ones.

Describe the Burgess concentric-zone model.

The Burgess concentric-zone model depicts a city growing in rings, with the downtown area in the center.

Explain the Hoyt sector model.

The Hoyt sector model suggests that a city grows in wedges or sectors radiating from the center.

What does the Harris and Ullman multiple nuclei model illustrate?

The Harris and Ullman model illustrates that a city has multiple centers of activity rather than just one downtown area.

What is the galactic city model?

The galactic city model portrays a spread-out city with suburbs and highways forming a circular pattern.

What is the bid-rent theory?

The bid-rent theory states that land costs more the closer it is to downtown areas.

How is the Latin American city model structured?

The Latin American city model has a wealthy center and poor outskirts, based on colonial patterns.

What features characterize the Southeast Asian city model?

The Southeast Asian city model is built around a port, with growth along roads.

What are the three parts of an African city according to the African city model?

According to the African city model, cities have colonial, traditional, and market areas.